Ear pad



Oct. 6, 1931; M. o. GASTON ET AL 1,826,309

' EAR PAD Filed March 9, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS 7775 0. 645 To 77/0/7045 fdfl/wfa A TTORNEY Oct. 6, 1931. o, GASTON ET AL 1,826,309

EAR PAD Filed March 9, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

4 MW Mm. 1/; W WM) BY Z I W A TTORNEYS.

1 5 rectly on the head, the set position of the hair venting the spread of scalp and skin diseases. at

.20 of thehead over and aroundthe ears and in the final step of the hair waving orhair 65 blown thereonfroin the drier so that in actual plied over the ear and maintained in posi- 70 12a ficial .tem1')oral branches of the auricular com-Se f th f l wi detail description f 75 raufia raaaarrests? sh e-a a tge r d end the fact that theblast ofheated air from W me S m 9 y thedrier is directed into the ears for a conmg e ntven 1 r h 3 siderable' length of time. It is a natural con-- g- 3 1S a h m w n t e 1 .40; sequence of the foregoingthat persons hav, of t? 8 .4 to obviate the foregoing objections by pro- Fig. 7 is a rear view of the head of a person 90 Patented Oct; 6.1931 I l.ll\lI' 'l"EI) STATES PATENT V rr'rI E o. ensron annrnolvrasnanlvrus, or nntLAs, Texas Application filed March 9, 1831. SerialiNo. 521,349;

g This inventionrelates to toilet articlesand viding a shield to protect the earand the particularly to alprotector or shield to be used surfaces of the head around the ear from in hair dressing operationsto protecttheears excess accumulation of water and other fluids; and adjacent portions of the head from infrom irritations,discomfort and burnsinci .5 jury-and discomfort. dent to the application of the hair pins at It is the general practice in beauty shops the. sides of the head adjacent the ears, and and parlors when finger waving or perina-* to prevent the airfrom the drier from blownent waving ladies hair, to set the hair on ing intothe ears. v

the head just after the hair has been washed Another object of the invention is to pro- 10 and awaving fluid applied thereto. The hair vide a shield for the above purposes at a is retained in the set position by means of nominal cost so that each shield will be'used hair-pins applied at difl'erent points and by only once and after it has served its purpose means of a netso that when the drier is to each customerrwill be discarded, thus obbrought in'position; to blow heated air diviating the necessity of-sterilization, and prewill not be disturbed. I Even while the drier AIlOthQr- Object of the in enti n iS'tO .pro-' is in operation, excess moisture in theform vide a shieldof the above character and for of waterand the fluid employed to impart the above purposes which will facilitate the the wave to the hair accumulates at the sides drying of the hair and save conslderabletime the nape of the neck and is very annoying dressin'gop'eration. a and sometimes harmful, Furthermore, the Another, object of the invention is toprohair pins over and adjacent theears become vide a shieldof the above character and for hot from contact the heated air being the purposes stated which can be readily appractice, the operations of fingervwaving or tion tolprotect the ear and adjacent surfaces perm'anent waving the hair are very unplea'sf during setting and drying of the hair.-

anti This is due to several reasons. 'First, Other objects and advantages of the inthere are several nerves suchasj'the superv tion will b om a arent during the branch of the vagus inside of the ear and the accompanying drawings Whefein are 111 of the l lesser occlpltill shown representative embodiments of the innerve and the great auricular nerve centered ventionflalnd in L r I 1n the region where thGIIlOlS'DUIB accumulates Fig 1 is a Side View of the headof & person ing the hair set frequently sufier nervousv g- 4 is L v w similar to Fig. 2 showing headaches and other distressing and harmful a 9 l n 0f t II VQIIU H; I results. F1gs5 and 6 are plan v ews-of other modi- An important object of this invention is fications of the invention;

showing a modified form of the invention in use;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the modification shown in Fig. 8 with features shown in Fig. 2 applied thereto;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the modification shown in Fig. 7 minus the ear engaging loops.

Referring to the accompanying drawings particularly to Fig. 1 which illustrates a typi cal setting of hair in the final step of a hair waving or dressing operation and wherein the coifi'ure is of a style embodying waves at the top of the head with waves and curls at the side of the head over and adjacent the ears, the numeral 10 designates the hair pins applied to the hair to maintain the waves and curls in set position, and the numeral 11 indicates a net to prevent the hair from being disturbed by the blast of heated air from the drier when it is brought into position and operated in a well known manner. It will be readily apparent that excess moisture in the nature of water and waving fluid will tend to drain down to and accumulate in the curls and waves adjacent the ears necessitating operation of the drier for a considerable period of time to blow heated air directly against the sides of the head and incidentally into the ears with the result that the hair pins will become heated and the air will irritate the nerves located within and in the region of the ear. To obviate this andother objections we provide a shield 12 which is applied under the hair and over the ears and which may be of any shape or configuration and dimensions to afford sufiicient area to completely cover the ears, and parts of the face and head around the ears.

The material from which the shield is made should be very soft for the sake of comfort in contact with the skin, highly absorbent to take up the accumulated excess moisture in the hair beneath which it is disposed to prevent such moisture from running down on or coming in contact with the parts of the head which the shield covers, and preferably porous enough to permit a free circulation of air to facilitate drying without permitting a direct blast of air to enter the ears. In actual practice, we have found that a shield in the nature of a pad made of fluffy fibrous absorbent material or cotton batting or the like is very effective in accomplishing the desired results of obviating discomfort and expediting the drying of the hair, due to the fact that such material will readily take up a large quantity of moisture and, due to its porosity permitting a free circulation of air from the drier, tends to dry quickly, while preventing the blast of air from the drier from entering the ear. Such a pad also protects the skin from the heated hair pins and from any other irritating action such as scratches which might result from the application of the hair pins over and around the ears.

In Figs. 2 and 3 we have shown a substantially oval shaped pad 13 having its edges stitched at 14: to hold together the several plies of fibrous material or the cotton batting. A loop in the nature of a band or ribbon 15 extending diagonally across the shield in position to engage over the top of the car when applied to hold the shield in protecting posi tion relative to the parts to be covered may be provided. The same idea is embodied in the illustration shown in Fig. l wherein the loop is in the nature of a thread or strand 16. In either case and regardless of the character of the loop, it is so positioned that it can he slipped over the top of the car to prevent displacement of the shield during final steps of the setting and drying operations. It will be understood that the shield completely covers the ear when the loop is placed behind the ear.

i The stitching at the side edges is not absolutely necessary nor is the shape of the shield essential, and in Fig. 5 we have illustrated a pad similar to that shown. in Figs. 2 and 3, except that it is not provided with the stitching nor the retaining loop to fit overthe ear, and in Fig. 6 we have shown another pad similar to that of Fig. 5 except that it is of oblong shape and is not provided with the stitching or retaining loop.

o deem it within the scope of the invention to make the shields oval shape, oblong, circular, or of any other formation or design, and the shapes shown in the accompanying drawing are merely for the purpose of illustration. It is possible to vary the shields, for instance, the shields may have stitching at the edges but no loop, they may have a loop secured thereto but no stitching around the edges, or they may have both as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, or they may have neither as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. i

. Referring to Fig. 4, it will be noted that we have illustrated a stem 17 which can be in the nature of a thread or extension of the fabric to facilitate handling of the shields when removing them from the package and in applying them for use in the manner already specified. In the same figure we have also shown stitches 18 through the several layers of the pad and any number of these may be employed if desired in connection with or apart from a stitching at the side edges.

Referring again to Fig. 1 and in connection with the size and shape of the shields we wish to point out that adjacent the temples at the region indicated by A, there is shown a curl with hair pins applied thereto against the skin and unprotected by the shield. This is purposely done for the purpose of illustration, as it is possible to move the pad to the dotted line posit-ion marked X so as to bring the shield beneath this curl, or to employ an oblong shield such as illustrated in Fig. 6,

nominal cost and in sterile condition so that the operator need only pick out two of the shields for each customer, apply them by properly placing the shield over the ear, whether the shield is or is not provided with the retaining loop, and proceed with the drying operation. We have found in actual practice that the drying operation is greatly expedited and considerable time is saved to both the customer and the operator, due to the fact that the shield absorbs the moisture which would otherwise accumulate in the hair, and due to the porosity of the shield which permits of a free circulation of air f0 fairly rapid drying. Y

The saving of time is very important in several respects, first, more customers can be accommodated each day and hence, if desirable in a small'shop booth space can be reduced; secondly, there is a considerable saving in electricity, as the drying machine will be operated for a shorter period of time for each customer; and third, the fact that the customer does not have to sit as long and does not have to endure the discomforts which have been pointed out makes them more willing and ready to return more often for treatments.

We have also found that such shields facilitate the waving of hair and obviate all ofthe discomforts and objections hereinbefore pointed out. and customers who have been adversely affected by the setting and drying operation without these shields suffer none of the ill effects such as the headaches and irritated skin so common to hair waving without these shields.

Referring to Figs. 79 of the drawings, wev

. vention the protector 20 is in the nature of a pad having a relatively large portion 21 similar to that'shown in 2-5 but provided with an elongated curved tapering exton-'. ,sion 22. The construction and form of this pad 20 is such that when the portion 21 is applied over the ear the extension 22 will be 7 disposed around the back of the head in substantial conformity to the border of the hair at the back of the head to absorb moisture from the hair as well as to protect the skin I and the nerve centers at this point from the heat of the hair pins, blast of hot air and the excessmoisture which "would otherwise come directly into contact with the skin. p Referring to Fig. 7,'itj wi ll be noted that when-one ofthese'pads 20 is applied over" each ear that the extensions 22 meet'and over lap at or about the center of the head, and while we have not shown a pad of this nature made of a single piece of material having'twoear protecting portions with a connecting portion equivalent to the overlapping extensions 22 made in one piece, it should be perfectly obvious that" such is possible, and adj ustment to different sized heads may be had by overlapping the materialat any" point between the portions 21. I K

In Fig. 8 we have shown the pad 20 as having stitching 2 f around its edges similar to the stitching described in Fig. 2 and for the same purpose, and a loop 23 secured across the portion 21 at an angle adapted to position it for engagement over the tip of the ear as shown in Fig. 7 in dotted lines.

We claim: r

1. An ear protector of the class described, comprising a pad of absorbent porous material of a size and shape suflicient'to cover an ear of a person, and an extension on said pad to cover the surface at the back of the head behind and beyond the ear.

2. An ear protector of the class described, comprising a pad of absorbent fibrous material of a size and shape suflicient to cover an ear of a person, with flexible means on one face of the pad for engagement over the ear.

3. An ear protector of the class described, comprising a pad of absorbent fibrous material of a size and shape sufficient to cover an ear of a person, with flexible means on one face of the pad for engagement over the ear, and an extension on said pad conformingsub stantially to the configuration of the head behind and beyond the ears and adapted to cover the same when the pad is applied over the ear.

4. An ear protector of the class described comprising a pad composed of superimposed fibrous porous material of a size and shape sufficient to cover an ear of a person.

6. An ear protector of the class described comprising a pad of cotton batting of a size and shape sufficient to cover an ear of a person and flexible means on one face of the pad for engagement over the ear.

7. An ear protector of the class described comprising apad of porous absorbent material having a ortion of sufiicient size and shape tocover t e ear and a portion of sufficient size and shape to cover the surface of the head bordering the hair at the back of the head. i

8. An ear protector of the class described comprising a pad of porous absorbent mate- 5 rial having a portion of sufiicient size and shape to cover the ear and a portion of sufficient size and shape to cover the surface of the head bordering the hair at the back of the head, and a flexible strip across said first m portion in position to engage over the ear. Signed at Dallas, Texas, in the county of Dallas and State of Texas, this 27th day of Feb, A. D. 1931.

. MITTIE o. GASTON. 1 I THOMAS R. JAMES. 

